Hat



De@V 7, 19.48. I H, SHRAGER AL 2,455,619

HAT

Filed 4March 29,1946A /5 .v f l' v I4 /5 Hymen Shr-ager and @ar-neg'hinberg Patented Dee. 7, 1948 Hymen Shrager and Ba R. I., assiGlenville, Conn.,

HAT

rney Shlnberl. gnors to American Felt l a corporation of MassachusettsWesterly, Company,

Application March 29, 1946, Serial No. 658,086 s claim.. (ci. a-isiiThis invention relates generally to the class oi' apparel and pertainsparticularly to 'improvements in hats.

A principal object ofthe present invention isV to provide an improvedconstruction in hats,

particularly hats made of felt containing wool and other textile fibers,by the incorporation with the felt, ibers of a speciiic type ofsynthetic resin material whereby there is imparted to the hat, andparticularly to the brim portion thereof, an additional flexibility andresiliency.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved felt hathaving a brim constructed in a novel manner by the inclusion therein ofiibers of a specific type of synthetic resin material, whereby such brimis made relatively stiii, iiexible and resilient and at the same timeretains the very desirable woolly feel or, in other words, is free ofany feeling of board-like stiffness.

A still further object of the invention is ton provide an improved hathaving a stratied brim wherein one of the layers contains syntheticresin fibers to give to the brim a desired increased stiifness,flexibility and resiliency, while the surfaces of the brim retain thenatural woolly feel of a hat brim made solely of wool and other textileiibers commonly presently employed in the manufacture of felt hats.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide animproved felt hat construction having synthetic resin iibers of acopolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate incorporated therein,either in the brim alone or in the brim and crown, but particularly inthe brim thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description of the same proceeds and the invention `will be bestunderstood from a. consideration oi' the following detailed descriptiontakenin connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part `oi' thespeciilcation, with the understanding, however, that the invention isnot conilned to a strict coniormity with the showing oi' the drawing butmay be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications markno material departure from the salient features of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a cross section of a conventionally illustrated hatconstructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.`

Figure 2 is a detail section on an enlarged scale of the brim and aportion of the crown illustrating the use of the resin ilbers in both.

,f in the material are designated Il higher percentage or a greater y`one form in which another i'orm in which Figure s isa detail similar toFigure 2, but showing the use of the ilbers in the brim only.

Figure 4 is a sectional detail of an embodiment y in which the crown andbrim are both stratiiled and a stratum of each contains the resinfibers.

In Figure 1 of the drawing there is conventionally illustrated a crosssection of a felt hat of brim and crown construction, which is generallydesignated I0 and which comprises the crown portion Il and the brim I2.It will be understood, of course, that the crown and brim portions'havebeen illustrated disproportionately thick in order that the inventionmaybe better illustrated and described and that in the manufactureof afelt hat inA accordance with the present invention the brim and thecrown will be of the usual standard thickness for the particular type ofhat underconstruction. i

The present invention is not limited in any manner as to the characterof the material making up the felt employed, it being understood thatsuch material may be made in any way and may be of any of the usualkinds used in connection with the manufacture of Ielt hats.

In carrying out the present invention the iibers of Vinyon, which is acopolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate. are combined in diierentproportions or `quantities in the hat brim and/or crown, and the hatbrim and crown may both consist of a single thickness of felt or theymay be in various stratum combinations having differing proportions ofthe Vinyon fibers combined therein or some of such strata of the brimand crown, or the crown alone, may be entirely free of the resinfibers', all as here set forth.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing show con-` ventionaliy a hat in whichthe crown is formed of a single thickness of formed in three strata.These iigures illustrate a hat may be madeup and the hat may beconstructed is shown in Figure 4.

As one example of which Figures land 2 are illustrative the Vinyonfibers may be incorporated in the material ci' the crown in any desiredquantity and each of the three strata of the brim, which are designatedil for the outside strata and `l5 for the intermediate stratum, has such`ilbers combined therein. The Vinyon iibers and the central orintermediate stratum preferably contains a quantity of the resin ilbersthan the outer strata and than the crown portion.

inai'ter particularly material while the brim is Preferably, theproportion of the Vinyonfibers in the outer strata il is approximatelyIthe same as that in the crown portion, but the proportions may bevaried as desired. If a stier crown is desired. a larger proportion ofVinyon fiber is used in the crown felt. 1f a softer, less resilientcrown is' desired, a smaller proportion of Vinyon fiber is used in thecrown felt.

In another illustrative form or embodiment, the hat construction. as'illustrated in Figure 3, may have the crown portion il entirely free ofthe resin fibers and of single thickness construction, while the threestratum brim may have the resin fibers incorporated in the dlerentstrata in the same quantities or proportions as described in connectionwith Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is illustrative of a construction wherein the crown and thebrim are both of three stratum construction. In the crown, which isdesignated Ii', the center stratum ilcontainsthe Vinyon fibers. In thebrim, which is generally designated i2. the center stratum I1 also isthe only stratum containing the Vinyon fibers, the inner and outerstrata i8 of the crown and I9 of the brim being entirely free of theresin ibers. yBecause of this construction vthe center stratum providesa desirable stiffness with resiliency, while the outer strata provide asoft mellow feel and woolly texture, such as would be obtained in an allwool felt.

In making up the three stratum material for the brim construction, orfor the making of a crown where a three stratum crown is to be employed,an unhardened batt is prepared containing the desired amount of Vinyonfibers and this is inserted between two unhardened batts containingsmaller amounts of the resin bers, or having no resin fibers at alltherein, and the three batts are then subjected -to the hardeningoperation so as to form a single thickness sheet of the desiredthickness.

This hardening operation is one which is commonly employed in connectionwith the manufacture of pressed felt and since such operation is wellknown to those familiar with the art, it is not believed a detaileddescription of the same is necessary.

In making up a felt hat of crown and brim construction, after the brimhas been made in the desired manner and the crown has also been made asdesired, the two are sewed together and the entire hat is then put onthe saddle, and then placed in a mold, where it is subjected to heat andpressure. It is in the molding operation upon the felt that the includedVinyon bers produce the desired eil'ect. In this operation the Vinyonfibers soften and permit the felt to conform readily to the contours ofthe mold.

The Vinyon fibers impart to the molded hat excellent shape retention.

We claim:

1. A hat formed of a single thickness of felt material havingincorporated in the brim only, synthetic resin bers of a copolymer ofvinyl chloride and vinyl acetate.

2. A hat construction having a brim and a crown, the crown and brimbeing formed of a single thickness of felt material, the crown and brimeach having synthetic resin fibers of a copolymer of vinyl chloride andvinyl acetate incorporated therein, the proportion of the syntheticresin bers being greater in the brim than in the crown.

3. A hat having a brim formed of `a single thickness of felt material ofstratified form, there being an intermediate stratum and outer strata.the strata having synthetic resin fibers of a copolymer of vinylchloride and vinyl acetate incorporatedV therein, an outer stratumcontaining proportionately less resin fibers than the intermediatestratum, the strata being merged one with the other whereby they arenonseparabie as identifiable layers.

4. A hat of crown and brim construction, the hat being formed of singlethickness .felt material, the brim comprising three strata, syntheticresin fibers of a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetateincorporated in the strata of the brim, the outer strata containingproportionately less 'of such fibers than the middle stratum, and thestrata being merged one with the other whereby they are nonseparable asidentifiable layers.

5. A hat of crown and brim construction, the hat being formed of singlethickness felt material, the brim comprising three strata, syntheticresin fibers of a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetateincorporated in the strata of the brim and in the crown, the syntheticresin fibers in the middle stratum of the brim'being in greater pro-4portion than in the outer strata of the brim and in the crown, and thestrata being merged one with the other whereby they are nonseparable asidentifiable layers. l

6. A felt hat construction as described in claim 5 wherein theproportion of the synthetic resin fibersl in the outer strata of thebrim and in the crown is approximately the same.

7. A hat of crown and brim construction formed of a single thickness offelt material, in which both the crown and the brim consist of threestrata, the center stratum onlyl of both the crown and the brimcontaining synthetic resin bers of a copolymer of vinyl chloride andvinyl acetate, and the strata being merged one with the other wherebythey are nonseparable as identifiable layers.

8. A hat construction consisting of crown anfl brim parts formed of asingle thickness of true felt material, synthetic resin bersof acopolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate incorporated in one ofsaid parts, and the said fibers in the said one part being concentratedin a stratum lying between and spaced from the surfaces of the said onepart, said stratum being a non-separable but identifiable portion of thesingle thickness of true felt.

HYMEN SHRAGER.

BARNEY SHINBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED s'rA'I'Fs PATENTS

